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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · hand · season · prune · bat · key · squash · stock

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. season — in sport
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. key — for a lock
  10. stock — goods
  11. drill — the tool
  12. squash — to crush
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. key — in music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — army training
  20. key — the most important part
  21. drill — a practice
  22. season — of the year
  23. squash — the sport
  24. stock — shares

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com